Tuesday, July 17, 2012

As you may have heard, there's a political convention coming to town. To help set the literary mood, I'm planning a story highlighting some great political books you might like to dip into before the delegates arrive.

So far, in my chats with a few political junkies, Robert Penn Warren's "All the King's Men," the novel based on Huey Long, has received the most mentions.

Personally, Timothy Crouse's "Boys on the Bus" has been one of my favorites since I read it for a political science course at UNC Chapel Hill. At the time, I was an aspiring reporter who knew almost nothing about the actual practice of journalism. I lapped up Crouse's colorful insider look at the political reporters covering Nixon and McGovern during the 1972 presidential campaign.

So what are your favorites, and why are they so good? These can be fiction or nonfiction, highbrow or frothy.

Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow - details the beginning of partisan "factions" during Washington's first term, shows how it all began, that there's nothing new, and that our gridlock may be milder than theirs. Favorite quotes: John Adams, when he barely squeaked by an election: "Damn 'em, damn 'em, damn 'em. You see that an elective government will not do!" Jefferson, in reading an opposition paper: "You can no longer believe anything you read in a newspaper."

Lyndon Johnson volumes by Robert Caro - the still-unfolding saga of one of America's most brilliant & venal politicians.

Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail - Hunter S. Thompson. An insider look at the McGovern campaign, and an introduction to Gonzo journalism.

Of course, lest we forget, the absolute classic by V.O.Key, Southern Politics in State and Nation, published in 1949, if I remember correctly.

A must read for all of those interested in current politics,this exceedingly interesting (and entertaining) volume is essential to understanding Southern and U.S. politics today. The legacy of history can constitute a weight on us that we may not even realize.

It's an old series of books by Allen Drury which still have some very relevent themes. He started with "Advise and Consent" published in 1959 and ended 6 books later. The fourth book ends in a cliff-hanger: one man and one woman who are key players in the story are assinated. The last two books end the story based on who lives and who dies. Politicial intrigue at its best!

In my personal preparation for the election, I am currently reading Paul F Boller, Jr's Presidential Campaigns. For more information about both of the parties, Jules Witcover's Party of the People: A History of the Democrats and Lewis L Gould's Grand Old Party: A History of the Republicans are good sources. Finally, for more information of the contenders who ran and lost over the years, Irving Stone's They Also Ran is a great read.

Thanks, readers, for so many good suggestions. You're a well-read bunch!I'll try to list many of these in my story, which will be published in August. I love hearing about books such as Ron Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton." It makes me feel better, strangely, when I read that our political system was already a mess 200 years ago.

Share It

Dannye Romine Powell

Dannye Romine Powell

About this blog

Dannye Romine Powell has published three collections of poetry (University of Arkansas Press), and a non-fiction book, "Parting the Curtains: Interviews with Southern Writers" (John Blair). Over her years at the Observer, she's served as book review editor, feature writer, restaurant critic and local news columnist. Count on her for news of Carolinas authors and write her at dpowell@charlotteobserver.com.